A close-up look at congressional wealth

A Washington Post analysis of the personal finances of all 535 members of Congress reveals how the nation’s lawmakers position their portfolios and how they win and lose money on Wall Street. Some invest aggressively in the stock market; others seek the shelter of bonds and mutual funds. They range from the super-rich to the deep-in-debt, from inherited wealth to married wealth to no wealth at all. They are entrepreneurs and farmers, oilmen and ranchers, lawyers and real estate developers. Explore this first-of-its-kind analysis and see where your lawmakers fit in:

Understanding the matrix

See how every member of Congress compares in wealth, financial approach and the industries they hold investments in. Each lawmaker is grouped in an investment category based on where they have reported significant assets.

Some notables

See where the richest and most financially aggressive fall on the matrix

Richest members are on the top.

Most aggressive strategies are to the right.

CLOSE

* Estimated wealth is the difference between reported assets and reported liabilities.

Putting the matrix into context

Riding the recession

Lawmakers who were well-off before the recession saw their portfolios level off before hitting new highs. Legislators with lower wealth did not fare as well. This chart shows median change in wealth by year for each group since 2004:

Republicans vs. Democrats

The economic disparity between Republicans and Democrats has virtually disappeared through the years. Median net worth of congressional Republicans and Democrats over time:

Senate vs. House

Members of the Senate are worth more than three times their counterparts on Capitol Hill and their wealth has grown as much as 70 percent since 2004, while members in the House saw a 15 percent increase. Median wealth in each chamber:

Outside income

In 2010, at least 150 lawmakers reported receiving more income from outside jobs and investments than from their congressional salaries. Total pay for lawmakers from outside jobs:

CORRECTIONS: An error in the underlying data for Sen. Jeff Sessions and Sen. Ben Cardin caused their assets to be misstated. The figure for Sessions was corrected on Oct. 11, and Cardin's information was corrected on Oct. 12.

A Washington Post investigation finds that, contrary to many popular perceptions, lawmakers don’t get rich by merely being in Congress. Rich people who go to Congress, though, keep getting richer while they’re there.